This is it. The final countdown. WWE's last chance to sell the Universe on a Daniel Bryan versus Randy Orton main event at Night of Champions, airing live on pay-per-view this Sunday.

Does pent-up hate for Triple H and the McMahons translate to heat for Bryan and his desperate babyface gimmick? Responses from the live crowd seem to indicate the answer is "yes."

But you can't take a pop to the bank and cash it. Proof is in the pudding—if that pudding is made up of pay-per-view buys.

Say this for WWE: This was a great go-home show. For three hours the show delivered excellent segment after excellent segment. Even the much-maligned Divas killed it. All told, this was one of the best Raws of the year.

As always, I graded each segment from A to F. Disagree? Let me know in the comments.

The Cutting Edge

via WWE.com

An overly excited Edge opened the show in his hometown to an enormous response. He's glad to be home. Especially since his home is, well, home to millions of devoted fans who might want to watch his new show Haven.

Triple H, it seems, wanted Edge to have Randy Orton as his guest on the "Cutting Edge." Instead, citing Orton's status as a completely lame and boring loser, Edge invited Daniel Bryan out to a big pop.

Eventually, because this is wrestling, Orton and Triple H came out and went back and forth with Edge. While Edge dismissed Hunter's ability to pick talent, Triple H cut to the chase:

"You never drew a dime, buddy."

Result

Edge is having fun dissing Triple H, who can't do anything about it because of Edge's recurring health problems. Edge is untouchable. But Christian is not. The segment ended with the Shield dragging Edge's former partner out onto the ramp. Triple H, as always, got the last laugh.

Memorable Moments and Quotes

"Every time I come out here, you guys remind me of why this is home." —Edge.

"My problem with Randy is that he's a hand-picked puppet." —Edge.

"What a shame that your body failed you at such a young age." —Randy Orton.

"You were running around backstage talking about how this Vanilla Ice wannabe John Cena wouldn't make it." —Edge on Triple H's track record as a talent evaluator.

"I didn't marry into my success...you're not a dictator. You're a dick."—Edge.

Wow. I didn't think AJ Lee could top her pipe bomb. But she let Jerry Lawler have it on Raw, going after his well-known reputation for liking younger women and generally laying waste to the announcing team.

AJ Lee is my favorite character right now. That's never been true of a WWE Diva before.

That was a really fun television match. Cesaro is arguably the best worker in the business and Marella had enough energy to hold up his end of a short but action-packed bout. This is what a time-filling match on Raw should look like. Well worked and a joy to watch.

"Looks like your dream of saving your brother's WWE career is shattered. Just like Daniel Bryan's dream of taking this away from me will be shattered at Night of Champions." —Randy Orton. "This" being the WWE championship.

Considering he hasn't been a regular on Raw for years, Goldust didn't look half bad out there. With no storyline, this isn't anything special. But the ordinary can become extraordinary if fans care about the outcome. We cared here. And that made all the difference.

Daniel Bryan (with Big Show) vs. Dean Ambrose (with Shield)

Dean Ambrose had the Shield in his corner. Daniel Bryan had the Big Show.

I don't hate those odds except for one caveat—if Big Show lays a hand on the Shield, he's getting fired.

When he heard the news, Show started shaking. He ended up throwing a TV to the floor. Well, at least he didn't cry.

After an amazing match, Bryan managed to pin Ambrose and neutralize the Shield. But when Randy Orton came out, the numbers got the better of him. Eventually Orton hit him with an RKO.

And then, the gut punch.

Triple H and Stephanie came down and demanded that Big Show knock an already prone Bryan out. But while Show delayed, Bryan slowly recovered. As Orton argued with Show, Bryan sneaked in a huge flying knee, ending Raw with the underdog triumphant. Will we get the same ending at Night of Champions?

Result

Daniel Bryan pinned Ambrose with a small package after a great match. After the match, Randy Orton came out and Bryan dove out of the ring to meet him.

Memorable Moments and Quotes

"I can't have you lay a finger on the Shield tonight...Show, if you touch the Shield, you'll be terminated. It's what's best for business." —Stephanie McMahon to Big Show.

Bryan works the arm. Yes, I was digging the rest hold.

Dean Ambrose with the Great Muta-style elbow drop.

"The Big Show has options. It's just none of them are very good." —JBL, speaking truth.

Bryan breaks out the top-rope hurricanrana and the belly-to-back superplex.

"This is awesome." —the crowd.

"What you're going to do is pick him up and knock him back down." —Randy Orton.

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I don't think any obstacle can get in Daniel Bryan's way. He's way too driven. And his beard is awesome. #RAW

Talk about firing on all cylinders! First Bryan and Ambrose had a truly great match, something that's becoming par for the course with Raw these days. But then things, somehow, got even better. After teasing it for week, Bryan finally got the better of Triple H and company.

It felt pretty good—but does it mean Orton goes over on pay-per-view? I think it does. And you know what? That's probably best for business. Let the chase begin!